There's a no stress way of cutting back. No counting. No denial.

We hear about cutting back often because many people attempt it but consider this, all the counting and denying before you quit may be building apprehension and negativity before you quit. What if you smoke 3 more than was allowed one day? It kind of blows the cutting back idea out of the water. It becomes a permission to do it again in the same way smoking after you've quit becomes a silent permission to smoke. "Oh, what the ***, one more isn't going to kill me."

You can get so focused an counting and keeping track and when you get to 5 or less a day those nicotine receptors are unwilling to go along but by this time you've fought so hard to get to that count, ANGER IS BUILDING, FEAR IS BUILDING.

You are likely starting your quit on the wrong foot.

There is an easier way to cut back without counting or denial.

Self Talk

All you have to do is just say "I'm going to wait a little longer," EVERY TIME you want to smoke.

All you're doing is stopping to think before you smoke.

Trust me when I say, there will be no fear or apprehension if you quit in this way.

You don't have to set a quit date until you've proven you don't need to smoke just because the thought popped into your head from your memory and routine.

Great advice, Dale. I think cutting back makes it so much harder. I DID track my triggers but I did NOT cut back while doing that and ultimately, I quit suddenly when I got sick. I WAS glad that I had done that tracking before because I had my list of triggers handy and it DID help.